Texas redistricting showdown draws CBCPAC solidarity with state Dems
The Congressional Black Caucus’s political arm denounced Texas GOP’s new map as a mid-cycle power grab that would dilute Black and Latino voting strength and shield Trump’s allies from accountability.
As Texas Republicans move to finalize a Trump-backed congressional map under a rare mid-decade redistricting process, the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus issued a show of solidarity with Texas Democrats and grassroots organizers fighting what critics call an effort to suppress Black and Latino political power.
The statement comes as the final public hearing is underway in Austin and applauds those opposing the proposed map and frames the redistricting push as part of a broader attempt by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to avoid electoral accountability.
“This unprecedented, mid-decade redistricting sham lays bare a simple truth: Donald Trump and Washington Republicans fear being held accountable at the ballot box in the upcoming midterm elections,” the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee said in a statement first obtained by Once Upon a Hill. “These maps—as proposed—would dismantle communities of interest and dilute the political power of Black and Latino voters.”
The map—first released earlier this week—attempts to entrench GOP power by splitting Democratic strongholds in urban centers like Dallas, Houston and Austin. Civil rights advocates argue it violates the Voting Rights Act and represents one of the most aggressive mid-cycle gerrymanders in recent history.
Several CBC members could see their districts radically changed or weakened if the map becomes law, including Reps. Marc Veasey, Al Green, Jasmine Crockett and the winner of the special election this November to succeed the late Sylvester Turner. While the CBC statement doesn’t reference specific districts or strategies, it promises to support Texas Democrats “in this struggle for just and fair elections” and says the caucus will “exercise our rights to stop this attack on our democracy—in the courts and by galvanizing the mighty energy of We the People.”
Redistricting traditionally occurs once per decade, but Trump has pushed GOP-led states to revisit their maps mid-cycle, arguing political shifts and favorable state courts justify new lines. Texas Republicans have seized that opening and Democrats are now weighing how far to go in response. While the CBC is not publicly calling for any specific tactic, its show of support arrives at a pivotal moment for Texas Democrats inside the Capitol and for organizers rallying outside it.
The possibility of a quorum break carries recent precedent.
In 2021, more than 50 Texas House Democrats—including Crockett, who then served in the state legislature—fled the state to block a Republican voting restrictions bill during a special session. The lawmakers chartered private planes to Washington, D.C., where they urged Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation while halting business in the Texas House for over a month.
Their absence denied Republicans the quorum needed to proceed, prompting Governor Greg Abbott to call successive special sessions and issue arrest warrants in an attempt to compel their return. Although the walkout ultimately ended without stopping the bill, it underscored the lengths Texas Democrats have gone to in resisting GOP efforts to restrict access to the ballot box and previewed tactics they may consider again.
The Texas special session has become a flashpoint in the national fight over redistricting and representation, with national Democrats increasingly alarmed by what they view as a deliberate effort to dilute the political power of communities of color. Called just weeks after catastrophic floods devastated parts of Central Texas, the session prioritized redrawing the state’s congressional map alongside disaster relief and conservative culture-war legislation. But Democrats argue the real agenda is electoral self-preservation. For House leaders and the CBC, the implications extend beyond Texas, raising broader concerns about the erosion of voting rights and the manipulation of democratic systems for partisan gain.
The CBCPAC’s statement follows a two-day visit from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries this week to Austin to organize a response to the map with legislators and community leaders.
“Our message to the people of Texas and to the people of this great country is simple: You deserve better,” Jeffries said during a press conference following a meeting with Texas House members and members of the Texas congressional delegation. “But that’s not what is being delivered right now by the Texas state government under Republican leadership.”